Photo: @VanFireRescue / Twitter
Vancouver Fire responded to reports of a smouldering bushfire near Tisdall Walk in Stanley Park in the morning on Tuesday, July 9.
Vancouver Is Awesome spoke to Jonathan Gormick, Captain, Public Information Officer, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, about what caused the bushfire.
"It was a small, smouldering bushfire, so there weren't any flames," he reports. "Park rangers were able to contain the bushfire with an extinguisher."
Units responding to reports of a smouldering brushfire near Tisdall Walk in #stanleypark #vanfirewildlands pic.twitter.com/ij9Fusc4dB
— Vancouver Fire (@VanFireRescue) July 9, 2019
Thankfully, the bushfire was small in size and park rangers were able to contain it, but this isn't always the case - especially when conditions are dry in the summer.
"These fires in the city are almost always human caused," states Gormick. "This one was likely caused by someone living in the park or someone walking who flicked their cigarette."
Gormick adds that almost all human-caused fires result from discarded cigarette materials. Besides people who flick cigarettes while walking, drivers who flick them often end up starting fires in planters and boulevards.
In Vancouver, an average of 71 fires each year are caused by smoking. Discarding cigarette butts on the ground is littering and subject to a minimum fine of $100 up to $10,000 under the Street and Traffic Bylaw No. 2849.
You can help prevent destructive fires by properly disposing of your cigarette butts in a waste receptacle, ashtray, or pocket ashtray and encouraging others to do the same.
